Spontaneous verbal repetition: A performance-based strategy for language acquisition

Abstract

This study is a descriptive investigation of spontaneous verbal repetition in the speech of normal and language disordered children. Four language disordered children between the ages of two years eight months and four years two months were studied at the following linguistic stages: II, III, Early IV, and Late IV (deVilliers and deVilliers, 1973). For comparison, four children developing language normally between the ages of 20 and 30 months and at equivalent language levels also served as subjects.

The major findings of this study include the following: both the normal and language disordered subjects in the study demonstrated high proportions of spontaneous repetition in their speech. There was no evidence that the proportion of repetition observed was related to language stage for either group. However, there was a tendency for children in both the normal and disordered groups to add morphological complexity in repeated segments compared to spontaneous utterances. Similarly, repeated segments tended to contain more major lexical categories (Morehead and Ingram, 1973). Finally, two potential functions of repetition were identified: repetition as compensation for linguistic deficits and repetition as a context for practice which contributes both to the acquisition of language structure and to the development of verbal skill.